Currently, with the advancement of the communication technology, portable terminals, such as a smart phone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC) and the like, have come into wide use. Because portable terminals have a convenience of use and may be easily carried, they have been used in a wide variety of fields.
A portable terminal transmits and receives data, such as a telephone call, a message, a messenger and the like, to and from another terminal through a wireless communication unit. When receiving data through the wireless communication unit, the portable terminal provides a user with a notification service which notifies the user of the reception of data. For example, when a display unit of the portable terminal is in an off state during the reception of a message, the portable terminal causes the display unit to turn on, displays information on the reception of a message in a pop-up form through the display unit, and provides reception notification through sound and/or vibration. Also, after the user reserves function execution for a particular time point by using the portable terminal, the portable terminal provides the user with notification information through a notification function.
However, when the user receives a telephone call or a message while the user uses the portable terminal or is viewing a screen of the portable terminal, an additional notification effect of a sound or vibration notifying of the reception of a telephone call or a message may be inconvenient to the user and people around the user. For example, when the user performs a telephone call, the message reception notification sound or vibration effect interrupts the telephone call of the user. Also, the user is inconvenienced in that the user has to change the reception notification sound to a silent mode or a vibration mode according to a change of location. Therefore, in addition to a separate key input, there is a need for a method capable of changing a reception notification mode according to whether the portable terminal is used.
Accordingly, a method and an apparatus capable of efficiently operating a notification function in a user device according to whether a user is looking at the user device are desired.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.